Bryant Falls in NEC Final, Ending Team’s Best Division I Season

Charles Pride scored a career-high 33 points but the second-seeded Bryant University men’s basketball team came up short against fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary’s, 73-68, in Tuesday’s Northeast Conference Championship game.

Playing in their first NEC Title game, the Bulldogs were held under 40 percent from the field and were outrebounded 46-34 by the Mountaineers. Bryant finishes its season with a 15-6 record.

Pride poured in a Bryant DI postseason record 33 points on 8-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. He added seven rebounds, two steals in 40 minutes. Peter Kiss added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Hall Elisias added nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Game Information
Mount St. Mary’s 73, Bryant 68
Records: Bryant 15-6 | Mount St. Mary’s 12-10
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)

Key Moments

Bryant pulled within a point with 7:18 to go but Mount’s Damian Chong Qui scored seven-straight points to push the deficit back six with 5:04 to go.
How it Happened

Pride got Bryant going early with back-to-back threes, making it 8-4 at the first media timeout.
The Mount was able to even the score at the second media timeout and then took the lead for good on a Nana Opoku layup with 8:27 to go.
Mount pushed the lead to eight before Pride drilled a three with 25 seconds to go in the half.
In the second half, Chong Qui got Mount going with a three to make it an eight point game.
The Mountaineers stretched the lead to 11 on a layup with 11:48 to go.
Pride scored five quick points for the Black and Gold, with his three at the 8:15 mark making it 54-48, Mount.
Elisias then converted a three-point play and Pride followed with a steal and a hoop to make it a one-point game.
Chong Qui, however, scored the next seven points for Mount.
Bryant would trail by 10 again but back-to-back threes from Pride just 19 seconds apart made it a 67-64 game with 56 seconds to go.
The Mount, however, was able to make enough free throws down the stretch to close it out.
Stats

Bryant finished the game 25-of-65 (.385) from the field, 8-of-25 (.320) from three and 10-of-11 (.909) from the line.
The Bulldogs were outrebounded, 46-34.
Pride scored 33 points on 12-of-22 from the field and 8-of-12 from three. He added seven rebounds and two steals in 40 minutes.
Kiss registered 12 points, 12 rebounds and two assists.
Elisias added nine points, seven boards and four blocks.
Game Notes

Bryant was playing in its first-ever NEC Championship.
Bryant finished the year 10-1 at home.
Pride’s 33 points are a career high and the most by a Bulldog in a DI postseason game.
Pride’s eight threes are the second-most in a game in DI program history.
Kiss registered his second double-double of the year.
Pride and Kiss represented the Bulldogs on the NEC All-Tournament team.